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SAVANNAH COLLEGE
OF ART & DESIGN
Patrick R. Benesh-Liu
I
n this day and age, we are blessed by many opportunities and challenges. Although the realities of
our economy mean there are definite obstacles in obtaining our dream job, so too are we enabled by
having tools in place in order to reach them. Education, in this instance, is that double-edged sword.
Corporations and market forces dictate that certain careers are more advantageous (to whom, we must
inquire), in terms of monetary gain and financial success, but one would think after so many years of
human development that personal satisfaction and fulfillment would rank high in society's priorities.
Apparently, this is what the founders and faculty of the Savannah College of Art & Design consider as
part of their mission. Established in 1978 in southeast Georgia, SCAD's purpose was to provide
professional artistic training to the residents of the surrounding region, and form a locus from which to
branch and create more campuses to expedite this goal globally. The school took an interesting approach
to building its physical structure. Instead of constructing new edifices, SCAD had historic buildings and
landmarks from around the town of Savannah renovated into new lives as classrooms. To this day, this
practice is followed in its other three locations, Atlanta, Lacoste in France, and Hong Kong, and its
students and faculty are themselves involved in the renovation process. As far as the central campus is
concerned, every major college building is repurposed, except for the dormitories. This includes a
formidable museum, which though having passed through many different incarnations used to be the
Central of Georgia Railway headquarters.